The First Mission Christmas-December 25, 2014

Today was an amazing and wonderful day for our family. We spent the day with our 2 beautiful daughters, fabulous son in law, and because of the blessings of technology, we were able to SKYPE with our Missionary!! At first, the webcam he was using at the members home wouldn't work. It was exciting to hear his voice, even though we couldn't see him. They fiddled and fiddled with the computer and suddenly (brrrring---magical noise) his face appeared! It was so wonderful to be able to see him and have real time conversations. He told us about his apartment, the city he is serving in, some of the other missionaries, learning the language, the members, the food, the HUGE spiders, the lizards (one was inside their apartment in the broom), the walking, walking, walking. He was in great spirits and seems to be adjusting as well as could be expected for 12 weeks in the mission. He admitted he still struggles with the language, but seems to recognize that it is coming a little at a time. He sent a small package for us, which we opened while we were talking to him. He sent Cammy "Ray-Ban" sunglasses, Brady a watch, Pat 2 ties, Natalie Portuguese Pokémon cards with personal notes written on each, a small bottle full of Brazilian costal sand, and a few Brazilian coins. He said that "Mom's Gift" was separate. I found out afterwards, he had prepared a CD of him singing and playing his guitar before he left Pocatello. He asked Cammy to save it for me until Christmas. Obviously, I was incredibly touched by his preparation, thoughtfulness, and excitement to share with me what he knew would be meaningful while he was gone. We loved sharing some of his experiences with him. When it was time to finish, I asked him to share his testimony in English and Portuguese for us. He was reluctant, because he knew he would be emotional. But he humored his mother. I am so proud of this little boy-becoming a man. I am humbled by his courage and strength to continue when things are hard. I am especially thrilled to see his testimony growing each day as he does his best to serve the Lord. I do love this dear boy.

In Portuguese:

In case any of you want it, here is the link to Deven's mission blog. It is just his letters and pics posted in blog format. I have set it up in case some of his friends on Facebook want to know what he is doing. He has quite a few who are non-members. It is interesting how many opportunities "having a missionary" gives us to share pieces of the Gospel with others!

http://eldergeorgeinbrazil.blogspot.com/2014/11/november-24-2014.html

IT IS TIME!

This has been the fastest summer of our lives! I can hardly believe that the "long four months" my husband lamented about in May are 2 weeks from ending....

On Tuesday, September 9th, Deven received another large envelope from Salt Lake City. This one includes his passport, Brazilian Visa, and plane tickets. Looks like he is REALLY going to Brazil--no Provo MTC, no visa-waiting in another mission.

He is leaving from Pocatello airport 6:45 am September 30th. His flight lays over in SLC until 11:05 am, then goes to Detroit, a 3 1/2 hour flight. At 7:58 pm, from Detroit, he flies directly to Sao Paulo Brazil, arriving at 7:40am Oct. 1, after a 10 1/2 hour flight. Sounds like quite a process for a kid who's not flown on a plane since he was a baby! Hopefully he joins up with a group of missionaries in SLC!

It has been so interesting and inspiring how many things have fallen exactly into place with precision timing allowing Deven to go to Brazil at this time. I am thankful for the blessings the Gospel allows. I am especially thankful for this blessing for Deven. I am looking forward to the next adventure for him! Join us Sunday if you can!! Love you ALL!!!

The Call

 

 

The Call

 

These past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind at our house! Deven finished his Senior year of high school on May 16. It was a great day for him! He came home thrilled that he would no longer be running back and forth to Century High School. The following Tuesday, the 20th, was Seminary Graduation. It was a wonderful thing to have our whole family there supporting Deven, including his dear grandparents. Deven and some friends were asked to sing a musical number for the graduation. They chose to sing "We'll Bring The World His Truth." After several weeks of preparation, they did an amazing job sharing their testimonies through music. I loved watching him shake hands with the Stake President, his seminary teachers, and walk back to his seat with his diploma, smiling.

Thursday, the 22nd, was his high school graduation. It was a wonderful day to celebrate so many years of accomplishments. We reminisced and laughed and ate homemade pizza!

For Deven's graduation gifts we saved and pieced his old tee-shirts together into a quilt and compiled around 300 photos into a slide show for him. They were wonderful ways to think back over his past years and the joy he has brought to our family during that time.

Sunday, Deven was given the Stake President's award for Seminary. It is an award for excellence in scripture reading, scripture mastery memorization, and attendance. Deven proudly received his award. They also presented his name over the pulpit to be ordained an Elder! We were surprised about that, thinking that ordination would not come until closer to his mission. But promptly after the meeting, Deven jumped up and raced to talk to the Stake President about WHEN he could be ordained. He referred him to the High Counselor over our ward, and Brother Hodge (who is also our Home Teacher) said Deven could do it that day!  His father ordained him an Elder, with our family Priesthood holders, our Bishop, and our Home Teacher.

Also, that day we were told it would likely be another 10 days or so before his mission call would arrive. So, we took a sigh and settled in to wait.

Deven began his new job as a runner at Racine Law Office on Wednesday, May 27th. He is working 20-25 hours a week at his first "real" job. Thursday, I had a girl's camp meeting with my friend who's husband is in the Stake Presidency. While President Payne was there for lunch, I asked him to clarify for me what to anticipate about Deven's call. He said, "Oh! Shall we check on its status real quick?" Of course I eagerly accepted THAT invitation! As he showed me the information on the computer, the three of us suddenly realized that Deven's mission assignment had been done on May 21st....it was currently the 29th....the envelope would likely come that very day or the next! Knowing I had an hour or so before the earliest time our mail comes, Natalie and I decided to run an errand or two. Unfortunately, I was EXTREMELY distracted now. I realized I had just better head home.

As we drove up our street, I could see the mail truck near our house. 7-8 houses away, Natalie shouted, "LOOK! The mail is here!!" Interestingly, at this point I suddenly realized that the CD I was listening to in the car was playing "Called To Serve" by the Tabernacle Choir Men; I thought to myself, "My life has a soundtrack!" As we pulled into the driveway, we could see it from the street....a large white envelope, holding our mailbox opened.

 

Deven had to work until 5:00. So he called his friends and I contacted family to prepare for the opening. At about 6:00, he opened his envelope.....

"Dear Elder George,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Brazil Florianopolis Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months. You should report to the Brazil Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Portuguese language....You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church....The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children...."

 

It was quite a beautiful and humbling experience to watch my young son's excitement about this amazing new opportunity in his life. It was touching to watch him realize that HE would be an official representative of Jesus Christ.

I think the most amazing answer to my prayers came later that evening. After the excitement had died down some, and all of the friends had gone home, I asked Dev if he was nervous. His response was simple, confident, and peaceful.

"No. I know this is the right thing for me."

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be the mother of this wonderful young man. I am thankful to watch the growth that happens as our children make decisions for themselves. I am especially thankful for the brave, gentle, and loving spirit, sent to me in the form of an active, playful, happy little boy.

Now we look forward to INCREDIBLE new adventures!! I look forward to witnessing how God can continue to work in my son's life; how He will make him His instrument blessing the lives of others. Also, I am trying to convince dear Patrick that we will need to make a trip to "The Hawaii of Brazil" in a little over 2 years. :)

 

Here we go!!!

Here is our first family post! Let's keep up on each other's lives and share ideas and fun times!